Western appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1885-18??, 1887-04-09
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The Chicago.

The new. United States twin screw
steel cruiser Chicago noW-lies at Roach's
dock at Chester, on the Delaware, re-
ceiying her finishing touches. Her
machinery is in place. and is practically
in running order. The Edison Electric
Company is now putting in an elaborate
and novel eleetric-light plant, which is
to be SO applied as to light every part
Of the ship from crow s-nest to keel.
The Chicago was designed throughout
by Theodore d. Wilson, Chief Con
structor Of the navy, who also designed
her sister-ships, the Boston and Atlanta
The Chicago is a naval curiosity. There
is no war ship in the world like her.
She is steel-armored, coal protected
tWin-screW vessel, built of mil1ed steel
throughout, and sheathed with wood
She will be propelled by four up
right, Walkingg-beam, compound en-
gines,with 52-inch stroke, the larger
cylinders being 70 and the smaller As
inches in diameter. These engines will
drive steel shafts 49, inches in diane
ter, to which are attached steel-screw
propellers 153 feet in diameter, with a
pitch of 229 feet. Eighty revolutions a
minute will be made in full speed.
The use of the old-fashioned walk
ing beam engine for a screw-propeller
war. ship is so unique that it will render
the Chicago a marine curiosity for all
time. But this is a feature to which
a great deal of study was given, and it
was found to be worthy Of adoption.
The small merchant marine to which
the country can lay claim has one yes
sci, the Louisiana, plying between New
York and New Orleans, and probably
the speediest merchant vessel carrying
the American flag, in which the walk
ing-beam engines for -propellers
| are very successful.
The Chicago is 525 feet long on the
water line, has 48 feet beam. is to draw
little over 20 feet with her armament,
and is of 1880 tons displacement. She
is divided, by nine complete transverse
bulkheads extending to the gun-deck,
into ten water-tight and independent
compartments. The four amidship COM
partments, which are about 1876 feet
long, are occupied by the boilers and
machinery. An inner bottom extends
throughout this space, making a double
bottom three and one-half feet deep
amidships, which is divided bv the
vertical keel and transverse water
tight frames into fourteen water-tight
cells. the machinery and boilers are
covered by protective steel decks one
and one-half inches thick. The top of
this deck is one foot above the load
water-line and is nearly flat.
The vessel is provided with COM
plete drainage system, by which in case
of emergency the entire pumping pow
er of the ship about $500 tons an hour
can be turned into one of the ten
water-tight compartments. There are
numerous hand-pumps, handy billies,
etc., in addition to the steam pumping
machinery, for additional safety. The
ship will be bark-rigged and will spread
1880 square feet of canvas, which
will be about two-thirds full sail power.
The sails are auxiliary purely, as the
steam equipment is ample for long voy-
ages when haste is necessary. The
coal-bunker capacity $40 tons, which
will drive the vessel 5000 miles at ff-
teen knots-seventeen and one-half
statute miles-an hour, or 5000 miles
at ten knots an hour.
| The vessel Is provided with heavy col
lision bulkheads and otherwise siren 9Th
ened for ramming. The ventilation of
the vessel is very complete and is &C
complished by means of two large blow
ers on the berth-deck which circulate
air freely throughout the ship, except
ing the machinery compartments, which
have separate system of their own.
The battery will consist of four eight
inch, high powdered, breech-loading
rifles weighing about twelve tons each,
mounted in projecting half-turrets on
the flush spar-deck, the center of the
trunnions being twenty and one-fourth
feet above water line. The turrets are
unarmored and the guns fight in large
open ports. The only protection for
the men is afforded by shields on the
guns. Ihe train on range of the for
ward guns will be three degrees across
the bow to sixty back of the beam, and
the same range will be given the guns
on the stern quarters. Six breech-
loading rifles weighing about four tons
each will be mounted in broadside on
the gun-deck, with train or range of
80 degrees before and abaft the beam
a complete scope of 120 degrees. This
deck has been arranged and ports are
cut for two additional six-inch rified
guns, which may be put in place if de-
sired at any time.
One six-inch rifed gun will be
mounted in a recessed gun-deck port
on each quarter at the bow, with a
train of 8 degrees across the bow of 50
/ degrees back of the beam. Two five
inch rifles in recessed ports abaft the
cabin complete the main battery. The
weight of the eight-inch projectile is
i 250 pounds, the six-inch 100 pounds,
the five-inch so pounds. Therewill be,
in addition, six Hotchkiss revolving can
non, mounted in bullet-proof towers.
These guns fire from sixty to eighty
times a minute, end are mainly design
ed to make things interesting fol
boarding parties.
The Chicago as completed, will be
the pride Of the navy. She is a hand
some ship, as trim as a yacht in he1
! proportions, and is considered for.
midable war-vessel. Her builder, the
late John Roach, took a special pride